Texas Tech football: Players that have not met expectations through three games

WR Erik Ezukanma

After being one of the most praised players on the roster by Matt Wells and his coaching staff, redshirt freshman wide receiver Erik Ezukanma was one of the players that Tech fans were most excited to see this year.  However, what we’ve seen from him in his first three starts has not lived up to the offseason hype.

With only seven receptions for 56 yards, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder has not made much of an impact on the offense.  His longest reception of the year has been just 12 yards and he went without a reception in week two against a very bad UTEP secondary.

Where Ezukanma has struggled has been in beating tough man coverage.  Given his size and explosive athleticism, most did not expect that to be where he would lag behind.

Now, his slow start has opened up a legitimate conversation about whether Ezukanma or grad transfer R.J. Turner is better for the offense at this time.  Despite playing fewer snaps, Turner has nearly matched Ezukanman’s production with six receptions for 50 yards and a long of eleven yards.

Either way, Tech needs more from the “X” position.  On the other side of the field, T.J. Vasher has outpaced both Ezukanma and Turner with 18 receptions for 246 yards and two touchdowns.

With the imbalance in the offense, it will be easy for teams to focus most of their attention on Vasher knowing that neither Ezukanm nor Turner have proven capable of getting open consistently.  It is apparent that because of the offseason hype, many placed too high of expectations on a player with no career starts and only two career receptions, which is what Ezukanma entered 2019 with.

There’s still time for him to break out this season.  Look to Vasher’s redshirt freshman season as proof.  After coming up with only four receptions for 129 yards (but two touchdowns) in his first three games, he finished 2017 with 29 catches for 545 yards and five touchdowns.

There’s still reason to believe that Ezukamna has the talent and physical skills necessary to be a lead receiver.  But after what we’ve seen thus far, it is fair to believe that those expecting him to become that type of weapon in his first full season may have been jumping the gun just a bit.